CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS QUALIFICATION-BASED QUALITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (QMS) AUDITOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM Exemplar Global Personnel Certification Programs
Exemplar Global is accredited by the Joint Accreditation System of Australia and New Zealand (JAS-ANZ) and INMETRO as meeting the requirements of the International Standard for Personnel Certification Bodies, ISO/IEC 17024:2003 General requirements for bodies operating the certification of persons. This program is not covered under Exemplar Global s scope of accreditation with JAS-ANZ or INMETRO. Disclaimer While every effort is made to ensure that the process for evaluating applications for certification is effective, Exemplar Global does not accept liability for the performance, conduct or services provided by the certified person or organisation. Copyright Exemplar Global This Certification Program and associated Intellectual Property is subject to Exemplar Global Copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of application, review or reference, as permitted under the Australian and United States of America Copyright Acts, no part of this Program may be reproduced by any process without the written permission of the Chief Executive Officer of Exemplar Global. Page 2 Document Ref: PCD28 QB-QMS Certification Requirements Edition: 10 Issued : April 2014
Table of Contents Introduction... pg.4 Grades of Certification... pg.5 Scopes of Certification... pg.6 Knowledge Requirements... pg.7 Qualification Requirements... pg.8 Audit Experience Requirements... pg.9 Re-Certification... pg.10 Page 3
Introduction The Qualification-Based (QB) Quality Management System (QMS) Auditor Certification Program has been developed by Exemplar Global in liaison with industry representatives. The program provides international recognition for auditors who conduct quality management system audits using national or international management system standards, or other management system standards and normative and industry references recognized by Exemplar Global. Confidence and reliance in the audit process depends on the competence of personnel conducting the audit. This personnel certification program has been developed to meet the following key objectives: To achieve the requirements of the International Standard for personnel certification ISO/IEC 17024:2012; To ensure that auditors meet or exceed the qualification guidelines for management system auditors described in ISO 19011:2011 and are assessed as competent to perform quality management system audits; To assist organizations in selecting appropriately qualified auditors; and To enhance the professional recognition of qualified auditors. Auditors who wish to become certified by Exemplar Global should review this document and the Personnel Certification Guide to better understand the certification requirements prior to applying for certification. If you have any remaining questions regarding personnel certification, please contact an Examiner in your region s Principal Office. Exemplar Global Principal offices are located in: Milwaukee, USA Seoul, South Korea Sydney, Australia PO Box 602 Suite 301 600 N Plankinton Ave Milwaukee, WI 53201-0602 +1-888-722-2440; or +1-414-272-3937 Fax +1-414-765-8661 Exemplar Global Co., Ltd. Room 610 Lotte IT Castle 1 #550-1-Gasan-Dong, Geumcheon-Gu, Seoul, South Korea 153-768 +82-2-855-7017 PO Box 347 Suite 12 308 High Street Penrith, NSW 2750 +61-2-4728-4600 Fax +61-2-4731-6466 Page 4
Grades of Certification There are five grades of QMS Auditor certification: Associate QMS Auditor QMS Auditor Principal QMS Auditor Lead QMS Auditor Business Improvement QMS Auditor The Associate Auditor grade recognizes that an applicant has met the formal education, training, and work experience requirements, but has not yet demonstrated the ability to conduct QMS audits. The Auditor grade recognizes that an applicant has demonstrated the qualifications to conduct a QMS audit and perform as a member of an audit team. The Principal Auditor grade recognizes that an applicant has demonstrated the qualifications to conduct a QMS audit and perform either alone or as a member of an audit team. The Lead Auditor grade recognizes that an applicant has demonstrated the qualifications to conduct a QMS audit and can lead an audit team. The Business Improvement Auditor grade recognizes that an applicant has demonstrated Lead Auditor qualifications and has knowledge of the application and benefits of business improvement and risk management tools. Page 5
Scopes of Certification There are five scopes under QMS Auditor certification. These scopes are in addition to the certification requirements shown within this document. Applicants for scopes must provide evidence with their application related to their combined indirect education, direct education, work experience, and audit experience specific to the scope they seek. Additional information on the Cattlecare or Flockcare Audit Scopes is available from Example Global or the Australian National Cattlecare or Flockcare Coordinators. SCOPE TRAINING WORK EXPERIENCE 1. ISO 9001:2008 Audit AUDITING EXPERINCE NA NA At least 16 audit days using ISO 9001:2008 as the referenced standard. 2. ISO 13485:2003 Audit* ISO 13485:2003 Training NA At least 10 audit days using ISO 13485:2003 as the referenced standard. 3. ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Assessment* ISO/IEC 17025:2005 Training NA At least 10 audit days using ISO/IEC 17025:2005 as the standard. 4. Cattlecare Audit* Cattlecare Course Relevant agricultural industry experience 5. Flockcare Audit* Flockcare Course Relevant agricultural industry experience. NA NA Page 6
Knowledge Requirements Applicants for each grade of QMS Auditor certification must provide evidence of knowledge competency defined in the following TPECS Competency Units: Associate, Auditor, and Principal QMS Auditor: Management System Auditing (Exemplar Global-AU) Auditing Quality Management Systems (Exemplar Global-QM) Lead QMS Auditor: Management System Auditing (Exemplar Global-AU) Auditing Quality Management Systems (Exemplar Global-QM) Leading Management System Audit Teams (Exemplar Global-TL) Business Improvement QMS Auditor: Management System Auditing (Exemplar Global-AU) Auditing Quality Management Systems (Exemplar Global-QM) Leading Management System Audit Teams (Exemplar Global-TL) Advising on Organizational Improvement and Risk Management (Exemplar Global-OI) EVIDENCE OF KNOWLEDGE-BASED COMPETENCY All QMS Auditor Grades: A certificate/s of attainment for the above Competency Units from a Certified TPECS Training Provider, issued within the three years prior to application, is required. Applicants whose Certificate is older than three years may be eligible to complete the Exemplar Global- QM e-based knowledge examination to demonstrate current knowledge. Alternately, a Certificate of Successful Completion of a Certified QMS Auditor course (or other certified QMS Auditor course recognized by Exemplar Global), together with successful completion of the Exemplar Global-QM Gap Examination, will be accepted as evidence of the knowledge requirements for the Exemplar Global-AU and Exemplar Global- QM Competency Units. For Lead and Business Improvement Grades, the successful completion of the Exemplar Global-TL Knowledge Examination will be accepted as evidence of the knowledge requirements for Exemplar Global-TL and Exemplar Global-OI Competency Units. Refer to the Personnel Certification Guide for details on knowledge examinations, TPECS and TCC Training Providers and other certified training courses recognized by Exemplar Global. A register of Certified Training Providers is available at www.exemplarglobal.org. Page 7
Qualification Requirements Applicants for QMS Auditor certification must provide evidence of qualifications defined by Exemplar Global in the following categories: EVIDENCE OF EDUCATION: Applicants for all QMS Auditor grades have completed secondary education or national equivalent. EVIDENCE OF WORK EXPERIENCE: Applicants for all QMS Auditor grades must provide evidence of: At least eight years work experience with secondary education; or At least six years work experience with post-secondary (non-university) education; or At least four years work experience with a University degree (Bachelors or higher). In addition to the above work experience requirements, the following specific requirements apply: QMS Associate Auditor Grade: Applicants must provide evidence of at least two years quality assurance work experience, obtained in the four years prior to application. QMS Auditor, Principal, Lead, and Business Improvement Auditor Grades: Applicants must provide evidence of at least two years quality assurance work experience, obtained in the four years prior to Application, in a technical or managerial position with direct QMS management responsibilities. Evidence of work experience must be verifiable and include: Employer (including contact details); Dates of employment; and Roles, responsibilities (job description) and achievements. ACCEPTABLE FORMS OF EVIDENCE: Acceptable evidence of education and work experience will be in the form of a copy of the applicant s educational certificate and/or degree and a work resume or curriculum vitae. This documentation is submitted with the application. Page 8
Audit Experience Requirements Applicants for QMS Auditor certification must provide evidence of audit experience defined by Exemplar Global for each specific grade. All audit days must be in accordance with the conditions for audit experience as described in Personnel Certification Guide. Associate QMS Auditor: None QMS Auditor: Applicants for Auditor grade shall demonstrate twenty audit days. A maximum of six days of off-site audit activity is allowed in these twenty days. Included in the twenty audit days, an Applicant must demonstrate: At least four complete QMS audits as a member of an audit team. Principal QMS Auditor: Applicants for Principal Auditor grade shall demonstrate twenty audit days. A maximum of six days of off-site audit activity is allowed in these twenty days. Included in the twenty audit days, an Applicant must demonstrate: At least four complete QMS audits; and At least ten audits days and two complete QMS audits as a solo auditor or a Team Leader. Lead or Business Improvement QMS Auditor: Applicants for the Lead or Business Improvement Auditor grades shall demonstrate thirtyfive audit days. A maximum of ten days of off-site audit activity is allowed in these thirtyfive days. Included in the thirty-five audit days, an Applicant must demonstrate: At least seven complete QMS audits; and At least fifteen audit days and three complete QMS audits as a Team Leader of an audit team of at least one other auditor. Page 9
Re-certification To maintain certification, all certified auditors are required to demonstrate continuing conformity with the current certification requirements for the grade of certification awarded. Exemplar Global will provide reminders with an invoice for the Annual Certification Fee. Every four years from the date of initial certification and each subsequent re-certification, auditors must provide: Evidence of 45 hours of Continual Professional Development (CPD) activities. CPD logs are available www.exemplarglobal.org. Guidance is provided in the Personnel Certification Guide. Confirmation that the Code of Conduct has been adhered to and any complaints against performance have been resolved. Audit experience in accordance with the following: Associate QMS Auditor: No audit experience required. QMS Auditor: At least 6 QMS audits that total at least 15 audit days. At least 2 of these audits must be complete QMS audits. Principal QMS Auditor: At least 6 QMS audits that total at least 15 audit days. At least 2 of these audits must be complete QMS audits. At least 2 of these audits must be performed either solo or as an audit team leader. Lead or Business Improvement QMS Auditor: At least 6 QMS audits that total at least 15 days. At least 2 of these audits must be complete audits. At least 2 of these audits must be performed as an audit team leader. For all grades that require audit experience at re-certification, a maximum of 6 days off-site will be accepted in each re-certification period. All audit days must be in accordance with the conditions for audit experience as described in Personnel Certification Guide. Page 10